SPORTS SUPPLEMENT, Y 5k igtAau :I3atiy SPORTS SUPPLEMENT ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1952 HAIL THE VICTORS: Michigan Still Class of Collegiate Sporto... " * * * # * * S * * * S S * S * * HARD RUNNING-Puts Michigan's Fullback Don Peterson out of reach of Cornell tackler in game at Ithaca last fall. It also made Peterson, a senior last year,. the leading Wolverine ground gainer for the season. He rushed for 574 yards in 132 tries. S* * * * * * * * Despite Mediocre '51 Football Campaign dM By ED WHIPPLE Daily Sports Editor YOU FRESHMEN may note the 1951 Michigan football team lost as many games (5) in one season as the 1947, '48, '49, '50 aggre- gations combined (they won 31) and conclude you were born five years too late. 'Tain't so. And before you threaten to transfer to Michigan State, take a look at the record book. It will show that Michigan is not only hops in football over the long run, but also the greatest all-around sports school in the nation. Winning has become a pleasant habit for Wolverine athletes, and things like losing gridiron campaigns just don't happen very often. The last one prior to '51 was 1936; in fact, since 1900, it has happened only five times. During 51 seasons, Maize and Blue gridders have won 327 and lost 91 for a percentage of .783. Competing in the Western Conference, generally rated the tough- est football league in the world, Wolverine teams have won or tied for the championship 18 times, four more than any other school. In all-time Big Ten activity, Michiga ngridders have won 152 and lost 58, a .715 clip, which is roughly 95 percentage points better than the second best mark. * * * * Biggest and Best AND SO IT GOES. The longest winning streaks, the biggest college stadium in the world, records for most attendance, 33 All-Ameri- cans, three Rose Bowl wins without defeat, and numerous conference individual and team offensive and defensive marks all belong to Michigan. Impressive as these records are, they carry only a part of the meaning of football at Michigan. Yo ucan't begin to know the whole story until you have perche dhigh in the stadium to watch the Wolverines win one they didn't have a chance to win. I've seen it happen more than once in three years; I've seen it happen in a snow storm at Columbus; I've seen it happen in the sunny Rose Bowl at Pasadena. And when you see it this fall, you'll start to understand why Michigan is a great sports school. Although one swallow may make a Quad meal, one sport doesn't make the well-rounded athletic program that is Michigan's. As the football campaign is finishing, down in the Coliseum on Hill Street the best college hockey team in North America will be training. Titles Galore THE MAIZE AND BLUE sextet, coached by genial Vic Heyliger, has averaged better than four wins in every five games during the past five seasons while winning three National Collegiate championships. The nthere's Matt Mann, Michigan's Grand Old Man, the swimming coach who has produced for the Maize and Blue more Conference and national team champions than any other mentor. Ray Fisher has won or tied for 19 Big Ten titles in 30 years as Wolverine baseball mentor; Maize and Blue track aggregations have copped 20 outdoor and 15 indoor crowns, tops in the Confer- ence for each department; 12 golf titles for Michigan are twice as many as any other league school has been able to garner. In fact, all-time Conference championship competition shows Wol- verine teams have won more major titles than any other member. If you feel you have athletic talent, by all means go out for your sport here. Given half a chance the Wolverine mentors can develop stars from the rawest material and you don't need a personal invita- tion to show what you have. * * * , Sport for All A FEW YEARS BACK there was a husky sophomore who wasn't invited to report early for football practice. He came anyway, at his own expense, and went on to be voted All-Conference fullback and Most Valuable Player of the 1951 Rose Bowl Champions. His name was Donald Dufek. If you are a casual athlete, you can take advantage of the best-rounded Intramural sports program in the nation. Under capable officials directed by Earl Riskey and Rod Grambeau, students compete in organized leagues for laurels in 35 sports, from ice hockey to ping-pong. As you become familiar with the Michigan athletic picture, wheth- er as a spectator, an 'M' man, an I-M athlete, or a Daily sports reporter, you will more and more appreciate its caliber. And, still more to the credit of your school, you will find the athletic program is operated with due regard for the fact sport is only a part of the activities of a great educational institution. Wolverines in scoring for the campaign. Perry will be a senior this fall. * * * * * * And '2' on Prospec ts SHIFTY RUNNING-By End Lowell Perry in the Stadium helps him elude a host of Ohio State tacklers in last season's finale. It also helped him as safety man and pass snatcher to lead the For 1952 Grid Team * * * : * * (.~. 0A By ED WHIPPLE Daily Sports Editor The 1951 football season just' wasn't Michigan's. After having won or tied for the Big Ten championship four consecutie years, the Wolverines of Coach Bennie Oosterbaan drop- ped to fourth place in the Con- ference standings. And for the first time in 17 years, a Maize and Blue team lost more games than it won. AL FOUR of Michigan's vie- tories were in Conference games, but so were two of the five set- backs, and Oosterbaan's team fin- ished behind Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin, respectively, in the rug- ged Big Ten scramble. You didn't need a crystal ball last summer to figure Ooster- baan was in for a rough autumn. He needed replacements for sev- eral first-string players who had graduated from the 1951 Rose Bowl championship outfit. Gone were ends Harry Allis and Ozzie Clark; gone were a handful of top-flight players from the cen- ter of the line, including line- 1951 Stats 7 Michigan Opponent * QS * First Downs ...... 117 By Rushing ..... 83 By Passing ...... 29 By Penalty...... 5 Rushing Yardage .. 1226 Number of Rushes 448 Passing Yardage ... 885 Passes Attempted .. 146 Passes Completed .. 57 Passes Intercepted . 21 Punts........ 74 Punting Average ... 33.1 Fumbles Lost ...... 12 Yards Penalized ... 368 139 88 48 3 1590 478 1031 168 76 1'7 67 34.2 14 395 '0 .Shaughnessy, a sophomore, made a steady centel. STILL, OOSTERBAAN never did find a tailback who could run as well as pass. What he needed was a Bill Putich who could throw, or a Duncan McDonald who could run. Captain Putich, a senior, ran well from the left half slot, al- though his passing left some. thing to be desired. McDonald, highly.-touted freshman from Flint, is a superb passer, but not built for ball carrying. He was impressive in limited action at quarterback, however. So with these. tangible assets and liabilities, Michigan headed into the 1951 season confronted by a further difficulty: RIVAL COACHES didn't need a crystal ball either to appraise the Michigan situation, and they all concluded 1951 was their year to settle in part some long-overdue accoupts with the Champions of the West. They got set to pounce on Michigan, the power that had lost only 56 Conference football games in the 57-year history of the Big Ten, the team whose coach had neer finished any- where but first in that league. Each foe had its special griev- Each foe had its special griev- ance: Michigan State was still try- ing to make up for 10 straight shellackings prior to 1950 and equalize the lopsided 33-7 edge the Maize and Blue held in the rivalry; Stanford had never beat- en Michigan. Iowa's last triumph over the Wolverines had been in 1924; Cornell was out to boost the prestige of Eastern football; Ohio State's best in the last six games had been a tie in 1949. And so it went. For one reason or another, nine opponents were laying for Michigan last fall. Michigan State leaped first, and the Spartans won, as expected. In fact, the -25-0 score, was the worst from the Michigan point of view since the two schools began playing football with each other. THEN CAME STANFORD, and THEN CAME Stanford, and the Indians literally flew over the Wolverines. Quarterback Gary Kerkorian passed, with All Amer- ican end Bill McColl catching, the Coast team to a 23-13 win. Three touchdown drives of CAPTAIN MERRITT GREEN By IVAN KAYE The Michigan football picture for 1952 is clouded with uncer- tainty. Whele the Wolverines will wind up in the rugged Western Confer- ence is anybody's guess. Experts are not picking the Maize and Blue to win the title, but past exper- ience has proven that Michigan teams can never be counted out of a Big Ten championship race. MICHIGAN WILL again face one of the toughest schedules in the nation this fall. Michigan State's powerful Spartans will open the rugged nine-game card on September 2 at Michigan Sta- dium. The November battles with Conference powerhouse Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State should tell the story as far as the Wolverines are concerned. The finding of a new fullback and a, new tailback are at pres- ent the two most perplexing problems of Coach Bennie Oost- erbaan. The Michigan football tutor must also dig up some depth in the line if the Wolverines are to successfully dope with the power- ful Big Ten opposition. THE LINE PROBLEMS are not nearly as pressing as those of the tailback and fullback positions. Jack Blott has never failed to build a fast, aggressive forward wall, and in all probability the capable coach will be able to come up with the needed reserve strength. Fred Baer and Dick Balzhiser are the best bets for the start- ing fullback spot. Baer, a soph- omore from LaGrange, Illinois, stands six feet tall and weigh 185 poundsfl Balzhiser weighs the same and is one inch taller. He hails from Wheaton, Illinois. Both are hard, slashing runners and can pass with a fair degree of accuracy. At the all-important task of spinning, the two are mak- ing steady progress under the watchful eye of backfield boss George Ceithaml. * * * TED KRESS of Detroit, Norm Canty of Chicago, Don Evans of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Don Eaddy of Grand Rapids. Bob Hurley of Ala- mcsa, Colorado and Joe Krahl of Wheaton have all been tried at the vital left halfback spot. Kress and Canty were par- ticularly impressive during the spring drills. The other backfield positions seem well stocked with capable performers. Big Ted Toper, a six foot two inch 215 pounder from Fast Chicago, Indiana, and Dun- can McDonald, the sophomore aerial v hiz from Flint will be in MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN 0 13 33 21 54 0 7 0 7 MSC Standford Indiana Iowa Minnesota Illinois Cornell N'western Ohio State FRANK HOWELL .. . fleetfooted wingback who is figured to see much action this fall. LOWELL PERRY the same open field shiftiness and crazzy-legged style as did the famous Elroy Hirsch, who play ed for Michigan's Western Conference champions of 1943, Michigan has good linemen-but not enough of them. That in a nutshell is a concise appraisal of tte foiward wall situation. Dept4 is a must in modern two-platoon football. The era of the sixty- minute man has definitely passed from the college gridiron. * * , ALL-AMERICA candidate Low- ell Perry of Ypsilanti and Captain Merritt "Tim" Green ofdToledo spearhead a corps of ends that includes: Gene Knutson, Thad Future Foes 1951 FOOTBALL RESULTS 25 23 14 0 27 7 20 6 w0O EXPERIENCE, YOUTH: Expert Coaching Staff Makes Wolverines Grid Power *. * *'. * * * V ° backer Tony Momsen, and Carl Kreager, the big center who played every minute on offense with bare hands in the famous Battle of the Blizzard at Ohio State, which Michigan won, 9-3; gone was All- American Al Wahl; and gone were fullback Don Dufek and wingback Leo Koceski, regulars for the past two seasons. BUT BY FAR the biggest gap was opened in the backfield with 7 the departure of tailback Chuck Ortmann, the passer and runner who for three campaigns kept the Michigan single wing attack po- tent. "As Ortmann goes, so go the Wolverines," was the adage proven time and again, and when he 1lft. sn did the stingy of the By DICK SEWELL Associate Sports Editor The experts will. tell you that a football team can be no better than its coaching staff. A quick look at Michigan's grid- iron braintrust goes a long way toward showing why the Wolver- ines have been a perennial Big Ten power in recent years. BENJAMIN GAYLORD (they all call him Bennie) Oosterbaan, now in his fifth year as head coach,j lays claim to one of the most im- pressive records in mhodern Ameri- can sport. As a glue-fingered, quick- thinking end, Oosterbaan be- came the only Michigan man to win All-America honors three times, earning the honor in 1925-26-27. Over the same span he earned varsity awards in bas- ketball and baseball. After his graduation in .1928 Blott has been connected with Michigan football on and off since 1920. The impressive array of All- American linemen developed by Blott attests to his coaching skill. Centers Maynard Morrison and Charles Bernard, tackles Otto Pomerening, Al Wahl and brothers Francis and Al Wistert all blossomed into greatness un- der the watchful eye of coach Blott. ..Emphasizing speed and intelli- gence, Blott-coached forward walls have turned in consistently fine performances over the years. Big Jack, a soft-spoken man on and off the practice field has produced no fewer than eight lines for Michiga ntitle-winners. His charg- es helped the Wolverines to con- ference crowns from 1930 through 1933 and again from 1947 through 1950. Season Record: Won 4, Lost 5, Tied 0. 1952 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Sept. 27-MSC at Ann Arbor Oct. 4-Stanford at Stanford Oct. 11-Indiana at Ann Arbor Oct.18-N'western at Evanston Oct. 25-Minn. at Ann Arbor Nov. 1-Illinois at Ann Arbor Nov. 8-Cornell at Ann Arbor Nov. 15-Purdue at Ann Arbor Nov. 22-OSC at Columbus Kick Off: All home games-- 2 p.m. (EST) Seating Capacity of Michigan Stadium-97,239. Stanford, Leo Schlict, John Vesel- enak, Stan Bounds and Bob Topp. Knutson won the Meyer W. Mor- ton trophy as the most improved player of the spring football prac- tice. The tackle and guard posi- tionsare bolstered by ten letter- men. Monogram winners at tackle are: Ben Pederson, Dick Strozewski, Bruce Bartholemew, Roger Zatkoff, Jim Balog and Don Bennett. The holdover lettermen at guard are: Bob Timm, Don Dugger, Dick Bieson and Bob Matheson. AT CENTERletterman Dick O'Shaugnessy and sophomores Dean Ludwig, Glen Bowers and Ray Wine should be more than adequate, Veteran line backers Zatkoff, Topor, Knutson and Laurie Le- Claire should assure the squad plenty of strength in that vital department. BENNIE OOSTERBAAN ... head coach and * * * JACK BLOTT . . . chief lieutenant * * * I